E-COMPARED

MasterMind has a close collaboration with the E-COMPARED project and shares several partners with this consortium. As the objectives and focus areas differ between the two projects, joint research activities have been set up to make the most of combining the knowledge generated in each of them.

To date, ample research has shown that guided and even unguided iCBT (internet based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) can be effective as stand alone interventions for persons with subclinical and clinical depression. This is what formed the point of departure for the MasterMind project: implementing evidence-based iCBT and videoconferencing technologies for the prevention and treatment of depressive disorders.

As a next step in optimising mental health care services for depression, increasing attention is focussed towards integration of iCBT as stand alone interventions or in blended formats (bCBT) in existing care, i.e. integrating online and face to face depression treatments into one treatment protocol in primary and secondary care. The evidence of the clinical and cost effectiveness of bCBT in routine care has however yet to be established.

The E-COMPARED project evaluates the clinical and cost-effectiveness of bCBT treatments as compared to treatment as usual (TAU) by means of the results of pooled randomised controlled trials (RCT) in nine EU countries on the short (one year) and longer term (5 years). These routine care RCTs (i.e. Comparative Effectiveness Research) are conducted in Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

E-COMPARED is funded through EU FP7 and runs until 2017. The project will result in evidence-based recommendations for policy and decision makers to inform to what extent blended bCBT is favoured over TAU in routine primary healthcare and outpatient specialised practices for depression treatment in the European Union.

Combining the clinical and cost-effectivenees generated in E-COMPARED and the inhibiting and promoting implementation factors identified in MasterMind will shed light on whether bCBT and iCBT are viable options to improve the reach and cost-effectiveness of depression treatment in the community and within primary and specialised mental health care facilities and how to develop targeted implementation strategies to increase the upscaling and implementation of these services.